“This is amazing”, “about time this happened...” “What a lovely thing...” “How the community is going to benefit from this”... ”just what the Young People need...” “a great building lovely atmosphere”...”wish I could come”...”how clever, great idea”.

These are some of the comments that were said to me on Wednesday 18 September at the GAPs open day in Cambridge on Nunn’s way, Arbury. Local parents, youth workers, shop owners, community workers, young people, police officers and us! What a lovely day, with lots of young people really interested and eager to see what GAPs was all about.

Interview with Sophie, who is currently studying on the ONIT course at 4rce training, Ipswich. This is a year long course designed to help young people who are NEET or who are leaving college to participate, motivate themselves, improve personal skills and employability skills while also improving their qualifications. The aim is that afterwards they will either return to college or enter work, apprenticeships or further training afterwards.

I can’t tell you how many times I have had the “what career is right for me?” discussion with one of my 17 year old clients. The answers have ranged from a Vet - until she found out the intensity of some of the examinations she would have to do - to a Hairdresser, but then she decided that she didn’t want to stand up all day - to a photographer, because she likes taking “selfies”.

In reality there is only one person that can come to a real conclusion - YOU!

It may be that you didn’t get on with people at your previous school, got expelled, failed a year or moved away, but if you have now decided to go back to school or college, or are moving schools, then chances are you are going to have to make new friends.

School/college is about more than just the things you learn and the qualifications you gain, it is also about the friendships you make.

This blog post should give you the confidence to make new friends and start the year as you mean to go on.

Last week at the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, Miley Cirus attracted a storm of criticism and controversy in the news and on social media. Dressed in a flesh-coloured bikini, and prancing around stage with a foam finger, twerking as she went, the performance of the 20 year old singer at the awards has been described as inappropriate by many, seeing her in particular as setting a bad example to her young fans who look up to her and admire her.

Facebook is the most popular social media site on the Internet; it has over 1 billion users. It is a place to stay connected with friends, family and brands. Users can also play games, chat and share pretty much anything they want, with who ever they want. However, the trouble with Facebook is that it is easily accessible, so nearly anyone can look at your activity if they so desired, therefore it is important to check your privacy settings in order to control who can see what.

I left school with one qualification in art. The teachers were surprised I didn’t do better. The one thing I enjoyed was the printing club run by the art teacher who encouraged me. To see an image reproduced was magic to me and it gave me the idea to get into the printing industry when I left school.

There are many forms of printing: lithography, letterpress, silkscreen, gravure, and lots of different trades within. At the time I didn’t know what the differences were or how big the printing industry was but it would become something that attracted me to the industry and would encourage me to make a dream a reality.

The study programme is for 16-19 year olds. It aims to provide useful qualifications while also preparing participants for the world of work through work experience placements. This means that by enrolling on the study programme you can gain real experience as you learn.

An eating disorder is both a physical and psychological illness which results in an obsessive relationship with food, either through over-eating or under-eating. How do you know if you have an eating disorder and how do you deal with it if you have one?

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is an anxiety disorder. An obsession is the repeated urge to do something, or desire for something; compulsion is when you feel the need to constantly repeat an activity, such as washing your hands or arranging objects.

Our moods always change. One minute we’re up, and the next, we’re down. Everyone’s like that. But sometimes the mood swings that everyone gets from time to time can go too far: someone can go from feeling giddy with joy to being unbearably sad, and back again. This can be a sign of mental illness, of bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder where the person suffering from it swings back and forth, sometimes very rapidly or sometimes very slowly, between two very different moods or mental states, between depression and mania.

Dealing with other people in positions of authority, like teachers or parents or bosses, can be a drag, can’t it? You’re younger than they are; you’re full of energy; you know what modern life’s about. They probably can’t even use a computer properly! Chances are you think you know it all: you have life spread out before you.

When using the internet, it is important that you know how to stay safe and can protect yourself online. You might think that Facebook and Twitter is all one big popularity contest, where you need to have as many ‘friends’ or followers as possible, but chatting to people you don’t know or giving too much information about yourself online can have serious repercussions.

Following these simple rules can help you stay safe online and limit your chances of becoming a victim of crime.

Currently the British education system is made up of exams and coursework. Coursework allows you to work on something over a period of time, making changes in consultation with your teacher. You have time to plan, write, review and execute an argument which can help you get a good overall mark. You might think this is useless and pointless and doing coursework makes no difference to your life, you can’t be bothered, why should you care?

Making a plan of action while you are learning can really help you to stay focused and on target. Revising everything you have done all year may seem like an impossible task, but if you divide your revision into topic headings, and then subtopics within those, then you will find everything else much easier. You can then place file dividers to separate your revision into manageable chunks, and you know which topic is lacking notes and therefore requires more reading/work.